When Season 5 concluded on a festive note at the end of 2023, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith hinted at a possible character recasting for Virgin River Season 6. However, fans need not worry because none of their favorite characters are replaced with new actors.
To recall, Jack gives Mel a yellow Labrador retriever puppy named Pony in the Christmas episodes that conclude Season 5. The surprise especially touched Mel because she had always wanted a pony as a child. After a turbulent year and Christmas season, it's the ideal way for Mel and Jack to mark a new beginning as a family.
"I’d always anticipated there would be a time jump after the holidays when we pick up with season 6, so we were going to have that dog age naturally as we headed back into production,” Patrick Sean Smith stated of Pony potentially being recast with a new dog in Virgin River Season 6.
“But we didn’t account for the five-month strike. So I don’t know where Pony is now in their maturation. I hope we don’t have to recast, but we might have to,” the showrunner went on.
Obviously, the dog who played Pony in Season 5 would have outgrown its puppy stage by the time filming began for Virgin River Season 6. However, as Smith said, the break between Seasons 5 and 6 exceeded their expectations because of the long-running simultaneous Hollywood labor strikes. The original Pony may be a little older than required for cinematic appearances.
Following the release of Virgin River Season 5 Part 2, Alexandra Breckenridge spoke with TVLine about Pony, revealing that Mel and Jack were originally scheduled to inherit Charmaine's dog. Breckenridge, as she had with previous scenarios, dismissed the dog adoption concept, saying, "Why would Mel ever agree to this?"
However, the actress was so taken with Pony in real life that she inspired her family to obtain their own Labrador. Mel has Pony, and Breckenridge has Bonnie.
Virgin River Season 6 Gets Disappointing Release Update
Meanwhile, a recent Deadline report disclosed that Virgin River Season 6 will not premiere until 2025. This will be the show’s first year off since its inception in 2019, with the most recent episodes premiering in November 2023 and Season 5 concluding with a two-part festive spectacular ahead of the holidays.
This is despite previous reassurances from showrunner Patrick Sean Smith, who told Glamour he is "going to do [his] darnedest to make sure" fans are not kept waiting until 2025 for new episodes. The series is now preparing to begin production on Virgin River Season 6, which will reportedly run from February 2 to May 17, 2024.
Season 4 ended in December 2021 and was released in July 2022, seven months later, while Season 5 was filmed until November 2022 and arrived on Netflix in September 2023, ten months later. However, if Virgin River Season 6 follows a similar pattern, it should launch in the first quarter of 2025, maybe as early as January, but more likely around March.
